Electric translating apparatus.



P. c. HEWITT.

ELECTRIC TRAN'SLATING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED not. 20. I913.

Patemed Dec. 3, 1918.

- JPETER COOPER HEWITT, F RINGWOOD MANOR, NEW JERSEY ASSIGNUR TO COOPER HEWITT ELECTRIC COMPANY, 0-15 HQEOKEN, NEW JERSEY, A. GORPOHATIUN 015 NEW of suitable character and density is adaptedv annsnv.

Application filed Uctober 20, 1913. Serial No. 796,167.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that T, PETER COOPER Hnwrr'r, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Ringwood Manor, county of Passaic, State 0 New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful. Improvements in Electric Translating Apparatus, of which the fol-. lowing is a specificatio have found that in gas or vapor apparatus wherein electrodes within a container are insulated from each other with respect to the container and wherein a gas or vapor to pass current between the electrodes under the ap lication of electric'potentlal to the electro es, there is what may be called a fcurrent-passin 1." tive electrode state .is reached. By'the broken-down *state,"l[' mean the final low resistance state "-where the current enters the negativeeleo" state existing at the negaefore the final broken-down I trode at a spot with a flame projecting from it, The current-passing state occurs at low voltage and, in certain instances, is

capable of, passing considerable current down or reducing-the negative .ele'ctro e resistance to the final state,that is to say, without bringing about the final state where the flame appears This state before the final state I will call the leakage state. I make use of this property of gas or vapor apparatus in carrying out the present invention, which'is designed to pass current through such an apparatus till til

at a definite low voltage. I The present invention is designed to constitute an improvement on the inventions set forth in my United 'States Patents Nos. 690,952, and 690,953,

bothissued, on January 14th, 1902. In the patents referred to, one of which has ap- .paratus claims and the other method claims,

I have mentioned the use of attenuated nitrogen asthe gas within the container and have said that with iron electrodes separated a distance of about one and one'half inches,

the lamp maybe started with a direct Cl1l'-' rent having a pressure of 750 volts, or less.

By means of the present invention ll am able to reduce the necessary voltage for passing current to a far lower limit, as will be stated farther on in the present specification,

A simple illustration of my invention is shown as comprising a tube, 1, of glass,

specification of Letters Patent.

, definite low voltage.

ELECTRIC TRANSLATING APPARATUS.

Patented Dec, a, This,

electrodes, 2 and 3, preferably of metal and may be of very high melting point such as tungsten, and'lead wires, 4: and 5, connected with a suitable source, 6, of electrical supply T have used boron fluorid in a lamp of the character described and have started the same at a pressure of 40 volts. Helium may also be employed and will start on a pressure of say 100'to 200 volts and nitrogen will,

pass current at 750 volts and less.

Care should be taken in the manufacturent: I n

the electrodes. linthe case of boron fiuorid,

as an example, the electrodes may be of platinum and I may employ electrodes Whose resistance may represent a drop of 35 volts,

or less, with a five volt drop, more oriless, in

the gas between them, when the. containing. tube 1s a short one. By lengthening the'jgasf to for use as a lamp having a required pressure column for special purposes, as, for instance,

of to 100 volts to pass the required current, useful lighting may be obtained; but

other purposes wherefor the resistance in the gas or vapor is useful may be served by providing suitable length for the gas or va or column.

he negative electrode resistance may act as a steadying resistance for the devlce, say 25 per cent. leakage resistance at the negative, 10 per cent. at the positive and 65 per cent. vapor resistance. may be varied by the material and surface of q the electrodes which varies the respective resistances at them and thevapor resistance may be governed by the distance between the electrodes.

The desired variations may be provided for by varying the electrodes as compared with each other in respect to size and tem perature and, also, by varying the density of the gas or va or. The temperature of an electrode passing current is greater with larger current and with the same current with diminished surface area and the electrodes may be used as a source of light solely by constructing them of suitable thinness and surface area. in this way energy other The resistance wise a loss so far as light is concerned may be made useful as light yielding by means of the electrode reactions.

A translating device of the character described above is useful in the arts Where the properties of a conducting gas or vapor are desirable, either alone or in connection with electromagnetic or electrostatic effects, particularly when used for efiecting the electromotive-force required to pass current as the device is extremely sensitive to such action and responds with great rapidity.

I clalm as my invention:

1. A vapor lamp comprising an air-tight transparent container, suitable electrodes therein, lead wires joined to the electrodes of October, A. D. 1913.

PETER COOPER HEWITT. Witnesses:

WM. H. CAPEL, THOS. H. BROWN. 

